A coordinated floral arrangement method and system was disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,612 issued Jul. 15, 1986 to Litwin et al. (Litwin et al.). Other patents disclosing mechanical devices for floral arranging include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,305,567 issued Dec. 15, 1942; 2,981,003 issued Apr. 24, 1961; 3,044,200 issued Jul. 17, 1962, 3,424,641 issued Jan. 28, 1969; 3,974,915 issued Aug. 17, 1976; 4,606,950 issued Aug. 19, 1986; and 4,937,109 issued Jun. 26, 1990.
Litwin et al. disclose and claim a floral arrangement and assembly system that allows artificial flowers and floral foam to be transported in disassembled form to reduce storage space and transportation costs. The flowers and accessories as disclosed and claimed by Litwin et al. are preselected and prepackaged for the consumer and then shipped as a unit and sold to the consumer as self-contained unit. The device and system sold to the consumer includes artificial preselected flowers each of which has a position indicator attached to its stem; a piece of pre-cut floral foam; and a template that has positional indicia that indicates the position in which the user is to place the corresponding preselected artificial flowers.
Several problems exist with the invention disclosed and taught by Litwin et al. and the other references. In the first instance, the arrangement assembly system taught and claimed by Litwin et al. is applicable only to the preselected artificial flowers that are prepackaged with the assembly. This is because the system taught by Litwin et al. depends on the coordination of indicia placed on the pre-packed flowers with indicia placed on a pre-matched template. Therefore, the arrangement assembly system taught and claimed by Litwin et al. is not useable by a person who wishes to use fresh flowers, dried flowers, or artificial flowers, or for that matter any flower other than those specifically prepackaged, pre-numbered and shipped with the system. For example, a user may wish to select floral material that specifically coordinates with the user's color scheme, or the user may wish to reuse or recycle the system by replacing the "old" flowers with "new" flowers.
Although the stated object of Litwin et al. is to provide a system and method whereby storage, shipping and shelf space costs are minimized through use of the claimed system, because the foam and floral materials are placed in and shipped as part of each unit, each of the resulting packages is relatively bulky and consumes a large amount of shelf space which is extremely expensive and valuable. Additionally, the Litwin et al. system requires wholesalers, retailers and end-users to purchase materials they may otherwise have on hand, or that may be readily available at a lower cost from other sources.
Another problem with the arrangement assembly system taught and claimed by Litwin et al. is that the user is unable to choose floral materials that fit his or her needs. Additionally, the Litwin et al. system is inapplicable to use of a combination of fresh, dried and artificial flowers. In essence, because of the coordination of prepackaged and pre-numbered flowers with a pre-numbered template, Litwin et al. is limited to use of the specific flowers shipped with the prepackaged system. Litwin et al. neither disclose nor claim a method wherein the user is taught to use materials other than those pre-selected and pre-packed as part of the system. Litwin et al do not suggest any method for selection of floral materials, or methods of preparing such materials for use, e.g. how to adjust the length of individual floral materials.
Additionally, the teaching in Litwin et al. is restricted to a method for merely placing preselected flowers into a template in a vertical fashion. Litwin et al. state that an object of the disclosed system is to provide a system wherein particular designs are easily reproduced; however, Litwin et al. do not teach, suggest, or claim any method whereby the user is assisted in shaping the floral pieces to form an arrangement wherein the floral material is bent or otherwise positioned to achieve a completed arrangement that is pleasing to the eye. Litwin et al. make no suggestions as to the angle of the stems, or the bending of the stems to create a desired shape for the arrangement. There is no suggestion in Litwin et al. that dimensionality is a desired object or a consideration. Litwin et al. were merely concerned with pre-packing a preselected product to control costs by shipping all components of an arrangement unassembled. Litwin et al. were not concerned with obtaining floral arrangements that were multidimensionally pleasing. Litwin et al. were also not concerned with providing a system that was readily useable by the untrained consumer and which would allow such a consumer to achieve professional quality arrangements.